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Rest in Peace, My Sweet Boy January 5, 2013

On Thursday, January 3, My sweet Persian, Marlon Brando, passed away. He was always a very sickly cat. I adopted him from Bide-a-wee shelter in March, 2000 as a birthday present for my daughter.

Shortly after adopting him I noticed that he had some digestive issues. Long periods of constipation followed by even longer periods of severe diarrhea. The vet and I worked together trying everything we could….changing his diet, medication….you name it. After months, we realized that this was not working and he was getting sicker. It was determined that he had the kitty equivalent of Krohn’s disease. He was also born with only on testicle so we realized he had internal problems from the start and that was why someone surrendered him to the shelter.

In August, 2000, I brought him to a highly recommended animal clinic where they performed radical surgery on my little boy. Most of his small intestines were removed. The vets there told me it would be a very difficult recuperation and chances were that he would not have the life span of an average cat.

Armed with this information, I decided that whatever his time with me was, I would give him the best possible chance at having a good life, whatever the cost. Most of my friends and family were horrified that I had even had this surgery performed when I was not in a very good financial position to begin with, and without a guarantee that this procedure would help.

He came through the surgery like a champ!!!!! His appetite improved (although he was a very finicky eater) he became more active, and played with my other cats. The doctors told me we would be lucky if he lived five years.

Long story short, he never had another health issue until New Years Eve. I noticed that he wasn’t eating or drinking as much and began having bloody bowel movements. he became weaker and although I tried to get him to eat and was giving him water through a syringe, I knew deep down that he was going to leave me.

On Thursday evening, Marlon joined his brothers and sisters on the Rainbow Bridge. He was 13 1/2 years old. He brought much joy and laughter into my life, and I will always love and remember him and what a fighter he was.